The term coastie or coasty (more often heard and seen as the plural coasties) is a pejorative term used in Midwestern U.S. universities (especially the
University of Wisconsin-Madison
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
) to denote students who come from outside the region, mainly from the
East
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
or
West Coast.
The term is thought to have been coined in the early to mid 1990s. Coasties are often confused with FIBs (Fucking Illinois Bastards), a term used to describe students from the north shore suburbs of Chicago.
Zooniversity Music brought the term into the national spotlight in 2009 with their release of "Coastie Song (What's A Coastie)."
Although the most general use of the term denotes only the origin of these students, there are often implicit or explicit associations that use of the term can evoke. One is that coasties do not pay their own tuition because they come from socioeconomically privileged, and often
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
families. Other associations include living in private residence halls and membership in a fraternity or a sorority. An additional association is indulgence in fashion.
See also
*
Flyover country, a pejorative term for the interior areas of the country between the aforementioned Coasts
References
External links
Coastie Song
Antisemitism in the United States
Ethnic and racial stereotypes in the United States
Social stereotypes
Stereotypes of the upper class
East Coast of the United States
West Coast of the United States
American regional nicknames
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